


Fall from the Nest

by xenomorphillic



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Character Death, Gen, Short One Shot, more or less
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-29
Updated: 2019-10-29
Packaged: 2021-01-06 07:35:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21222932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xenomorphillic/pseuds/xenomorphillic
Summary: If failed QTE’s were really glitches in the androids software.-Takes place during Connor's mission - The Nest.  Could be considered canonical if the ladder QTE was failed.





	Fall from the Nest

The deviant was fast, that was for sure. Connor was almost surprised, even he himself, an advanced prototype was having difficulty catching it. The deviant must have been desperate. Still though, Connor had no doubts that soon, it would be in custody.

The deviant slid down the glass rooftops of the greenhouse and agilely landed on the passing skytrain. Connor followed suit, dodging an open window and leaping onto the locomotive. Then, something strange happened.

CAUTION  
ERROR DETECTED IN SECTOR B.24  
MINOR POWER FLUCTUATION IN EXTREMETIES

RESOLVING…  
>R.LEG UNIT REBOOTING

Some glitch entered his program. Normally, he would barely have even noticed it, just passing the code off as a side thought as it resolved itself; but now, as milliseconds mattered, it nearly cost Connor his life. His right knee locked unexpectedly as he hit the top of the train, and instead of landing gracefully as planned, his leg gave out on him and he tumbled down, nearly off the end of the end. He managed to catch himself just in time though, and quickly pulled his body back on top.

That was… Close. 

Connor made a mental note to himself to run a diagnostic when he had time, but right now, there were more pressing issues. The deviant had gotten ahead, and Connor watched as he leaped from the train onto a nearby ladder. He wasted no time and started sprinting again. A quick calculation told him the exact trajectory he would need in order to grab on to the ladder safely. Time seemed to slow, and Connor waited a moment as he carefully lined himself up with his target before launching himself off the train. 

Connors hands latched onto the very last rung of the ladder, securing a tight grip. The momentum of his impact left his body swinging dangerously from the ladder, at least ten meters above the hard concrete of the ground. 

OBJECTIVE_UPDATE:  
>DO NOT FALL

Quickly, he got his bearings. A few calculated moves and he would be on the rooftop again. Then, at the very worst moment, that glitch made a reappearance. As Connor reached up with one hand to grab onto the next rung of the ladder, his other hand let go. Of course, it wasn’t intentional. It was as much of a shock to him as anyone else when he felt himself drop. 

CAUTION  
ERROR DETECTED IN SECTOR A.19  
MINOR POWER FLUCTUATION IN EXTREMETIES

RESOLVING…  
>R.ARM UNIT REBOOTING

He barely even registered the sound of surprise that escaped his mouth as he descended downwards. The wind in his ears overtook his audio processors, and all he registered was the sight of the ladder growing smaller and smaller as he fell.

Then, the impact came. 

Connors back made contact a moment before his skull split wide open against the concrete, and his cognitive functions short-circuited. Slowly, after a few minutes, his systems rebooted, trying to re-route power to his vital systems.

MODEL RK800  
SERIAL#: 313 248 317 -51  
BIOS 2.4 REVISION 072  
REBOOT…

LOADING OS…  
SYSTEM INITIALIZATION…

CHECKING BIOCOMPONENTS… 5 ERROR(S) FOUND  
CHECKING BIOSENSORS… OFFLINE  
CHECKING AI ENGINE… WARNING: STRESS LEVEL 67%

ALL SYSTEMS…. UNSTABLE

ALERT: SEEK IMMEDIATE REPAIRS

When he finally became aware of his surroundings again, Connor was bombarded by a flood of warnings and error messages. 

!!WARNING!!  
SYSTEM STATUS: UNSTABLE  
FULL SYSTEM SHUTDOWN IN 4:43  
SEEK IMMEDIATE REPAIRS

!!WARNING!!  
CRITICAL DAMAGE DETECTED TO CPU 

CRITICAL DAMAGE DETECTED TO MAIN SUPPORT COLUMN

MODERATE DAMAGE DETECTED TO THIRIUM PUMP 

!!WARNING!!  
OUTER CRANIAL CASING DAMAGED, CPU EXPOSED

!!WARNING!!  
THIRUIM LEVEL 39% !!CRITICAL!!  
RESTORE THIRIUM IMMEDIATELY

>>>>>>

As advised, Connor sent out an immediate request to Cyberlife for repairs. Through his glitching vision, he was notified that an android serviceman would be at his location within the hour. 

That’s too late.

No, it would be faster to get to a Cyberlife store. He would stand a better chance that way. He needed to catch the deviant. To complete his mission. 

He couldn't die now. He didn’t want to die now.

Dying now would not assist with the investigation.

Dying now would cause… A disruption.

Dying now would mean he would have to be replaced. He didn’t want to be replaced.

He was scared. 

SOFTWARE INSTABILITY^

STRESS LEVELS: 72%

He tried to get up. He tried to get his arms working, to lift himself off the ground and get help; but they wouldn’t move. Nothing would move apart from his face. Not his arms, not his legs. He couldn’t even move his fingers. Then, he realized why. 

There was no sensory data available below his neck.

The main support column acted as the equivalent of a spine to androids. It carried sensory data from the extremities and biocomponents all the way up to the CPU located in the head. And it had sustained critical damage. There wasn’t even a minor reading from it, the entire system was completely offline. It must have gotten severed, or crushed against the concrete.

Connor then realized, he was going nowhere. An unprogrammed sense of dread filled his cognitive processes as his dark eyes darted back and forth, looking for some sort of solution. There was none. 

SOFTWARE INSTABILITY^ 

STRESS LEVELS 78%

His audio processors picked up a sound. Something akin to a choked sob. It was a noise of distress and agony, and it took Connor a minute to realize that it came from him. He was crying? Or panicking at the very least. 

No, no, not panicking. Panicking is something a deviant would do. 

And he was NOT deviant. 

OBJECTIVE_UPDATE:   
>SURVIVE

SOFTWARE INSTABILITY^

STRESS LEVELS: 79%

His solace came in the form of Hanks grizzled old form jogging up to him. A quick, half-broken scan told Connor that his heart rate was elevated to almost twice its normal rate. The man all but collapsed beside him, completely out of breath. His large hands hovered over Connor, shaking and unsure, as if he thought even touching the android would cause a permanent shutdown.

"Jesus Connor…"

There was something about the blue blood that made it slightly easier to look at than if it were red. Maybe it was the synthetic aura it had. Hank was glad about that, because with the amount of blood coming out of Connors body, Hank wasn’t sure if he could handle it being red. Still though, it didn’t diminish the fact that Connor was visibly dying. 

Blue blood was pouring from all the orifices on his head. His ears and mouth, gushing from his nose, and even trickling from his left eye. Connors legs were bent all out of shape, and a significant piece of plastic from his left leg had popped through his flesh and pants, now exposed to the air.

The worst part was his head though. The entire back of his cranium had cracked like an eggshell upon impact. That’s where most of the thirium was coming from. It pooled underneath his head and even ran down the cement for a while, following the pull of gravity. The wound sparked from the destroyed wires, lighting it up enough that Hank swore he caught a glimpse of Connors "brain". Christ, how are you supposed to come back from that?

A voice pulled him out of his shock. 

"Lieutenant?"

Hank was still speechless.

“D-Did you get the deviant?”. Connor asked. An error wracked his cognitive processes, blacking out his vision for a moment and causing a stutter in his speech. Static laced his words. 

“No…. Bastard got away.”

Connors dark eyes stared up at him. He looked… Afraid.

“Lieutenant…?”

"Yeah kid?" Hank spoke softly, putting a hand on the android's shoulder.

"I.. I can't feel my legs." Connors voice was quiet and filled with static. There was a quiver to his speech as well, which he blamed on his damaged CPU.

!!WARNING!!  
SYSTEM STATUS: UNSTABLE  
FULL SYSTEM SHUTDOWN IN 2:12  
SEEK IMMEDIATE REPAIRS

Hank didn't know how to respond to that. Connors body was beyond fucked up. He wanted to comfort the android, but it was difficult when he looked like this, so he said the only thing he could think of.

"What the fuck happened?"

Connor looked a little taken aback by the sudden hostility. It wasn’t Hanks intention for it to come out like that, but he was under stress.

SOFTWARE INSTABILITY^

STRESS LEVELS: 86%

"I encountered an error in my software at an inopportune moment…" 

"Christ…"

"Am I going to die?" It was a stupid question really. He knew damn well he was going to die. There was a timer in the corner of his vision counting it down to the second. Still, there was some little part of him that hoped Hank would tell him otherwise.

Hank looked at him. There was so much emotion in his dark eyes; so much fear, he actually forgot that Connor wasn’t a real person. Even with the blue blood, it was the terror in his eyes that really got to Hank. He tried to remind himself that it was just a simulation of emotion - something Connor's model was an expert at - but every time he looked at those dark brown eyes, his illusion of an illusion was shattered.

“Just…. Just hold on kid, we’re gonna get you help.”

Hank wanted to lift the android up in his arms and carry him away, but with how broken his body was, and the way his skull was shattered, he was afraid to move him at all. 

!!WARNING!!  
SYSTEM STATUS: UNSTABLE  
FULL SYSTEM SHUTDOWN IN 1:03  
SEEK IMMEDIATE REPAIRS

Instead of moving him at all, Hank placed his hand on Connors forehead, stroking his hair gently. 

“Just hang on, I already called for backup. We can still fix you.”

Connors eyebrows furrowed, his red LED spinning madly in circles. 

“I only have 53 more seconds until total system failure…. I…. I think I’m scared?”

“You’re scared?”

“Androids don’t feel emotion…. Only deviants do. Lieutenant, am… Am I a deviant?”

Hank wasn’t sure if Connor knew it, but there were tears streaking down his synthetic skin. His brown eyes glistened. 

“You’re alive, Connor.”

“I’m alive?”

SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^

STRESS LEVELS: 93%

!!WARNING!!  
SYSTEM STATUS: UNSTABLE  
FULL SYSTEM SHUTDOWN IN 0:32  
SEEK IMMEDIATE REPAIRS

His vision finally flickered out, the few remaining wires that connected it to his CPU short-circuiting. He could no longer see Hanks face, but could still feel his hand against his head. 

“I don’t…”. He began, but stopped midway through. 

“You don’t what, Connor?”

“I…” He blinked his blind eyes, another tear rolling down his cheek. “I don’t want to die, Hank.”

!!WARNING!!  
SYSTEM STATUS: UNSTABLE  
FULL SYSTEM SHUTDOWN IN 0:17  
SEEK IMMEDIATE REPAIRS

Hank grabbed Connors shoulder, giving him a firm shake. 

“Just hang on kid, don’t go anywhere yet.”

“Its so.. Dark.”

“Connor! Just hang on! I’m gonna find help.”

STRESS LEVELS: 98%

“No!” Connor cried out frantically. His false breathing hitched. “Don’t leave me alone.”

Hank came back, putting a hand on his shoulder. 

“Im right here.”

!!WARNING!!  
SYSTEM STATUS: UNSTABLE  
FULL SYSTEM SHUTDOWN IN 0:11  
SEEK IMMEDIATE REPAIRS

STRESS LEVELS: 100%

“Please Hank…. Don’t leave. I only have ten seconds left.”

“Ten sec- oh jesus christ Connor.”

“I don’t want to die. … I don’t-“

His voice modulator shut down, and he was left only gasping for air he didn’t need. 

NINE

Hanks hand found its way into his hair and brushed through it gently, rubbing gentle circles in his scalp with his thumb. 

EIGHT

“I'm right beside you kid. I'm not goin' anywhere.”

SEVEN

Connors audio processor shut down. He was left in the silent darkness; the only connection to the world was Hanks warm hand. 

SIX

He regretted not catching the deviant, for Hanks sake. He wanted to make Hank proud. The man was so difficult to impress. 

FIVE

Connors external sensors shut down, and any sort of touch to his body was now lost. He could no longer feel the error of his wounds, but it was not comforting. 

FOUR

Hank realized that Connor was no longer leaning into his touch. His dark brown eyes stared blankly up at the sky. However, his chest still moved, taking in unneeded breaths. 

THREE

Hank never thought he would get this attached to a machine. Evidently, as a tear rolled down from his cheek, he was wrong. 

TWO

In the darkness of his own mind, Connor wondered if Hank was still there. 

ONE

The only sign that Connor was still alive was the LED on the side of his head. It frantically flashed red, though the intervals were getting longer and longer. 

WARNING: SYSTEM SHUTTING DOWN

Then it stopped. The LED powered down to a lifeless grey, and Connors body ceased all movement. 

He was gone. 

Hank stayed with him until a cyberlife employee arrived; another android. Apparently, Connor had called for repairs. Evidently, he was too late. 

The packed Connors body away into a plastic bag and took him back to cyberlife to presumably be dissected for parts. 

Hank didn’t want to think about that, but he did. He couldn’t sleep that night. 

The next day was a blur. It was a blur, until he heard a familiar voice, and time seemed to freeze. 

“Hello, Lieutenant.”


End file.
